


The Enemy of My Enemy

by rinthegreat



Series: Everything Or Nothing At All [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Evil Altean Reality, M/M, Post-Season/Series 03, Soft Lancelot, but this will have a happy ending if it kills me, star crossed lovers, there's pain because i always write pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-01-17 20:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12373683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: Months have passed since Lotor freed Lance and returned him to the team, but Lance doesn't have time to work through the heartbreak. The Alteans from Sven's reality have broken through into this one, and between them and the Galra, team Voltron is running ragged. After a battle nearly goes wrong, Lance learns that not everything is what it seems.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> wooo! happy season 4 guys, and welcome to part 2 of my Lancelot series! I was requested by several people on here (and on discord and Tumblr) to continue the story after Prisoner, because there are so few pure Lancelot fics. As with everything I do, plot accidentally appeared so...that's a thing now. I wanted to get this chapter out before the end of October because November I'll be focusing on finishing one of my other ongoing fics for NaNoWriMo and I will need every second to focus on it (I have about 60-70k remaining in that fic R I P). As such, this probably won't be updated until December at the earliest.
> 
> Also, once again, this is unbetaed. I have been writing so much that my beta literally cannot keep up. Please forgive any errors. <3

It’s been months since Lotor freed him, but Lance still can’t get his mind off the prince.

The first few weeks following his rescue from the ice planet, the team had let him have a bit of a break. With Shiro able to pilot Black again and Allura on Blue, Lance wasn’t really needed. It gave him time to rest, try and recover from his time with Lotor. Allura’s words, not his.

But when trouble started up again, Lance’s rest time was over, and he was back in Blue.

The strange thing, though, is that the trouble isn’t purely Galra anymore. Sometime while Lance was Lotor’s prisoner, the Alteans from Sven’s reality had broken into this reality, and they’ve been causing chaos. Lance learns that they’d only been able to get small ships in before, but as the time’s gone on they’ve been able to get more and more through. He remembers that reality, remembers Sven taking that blast for him. And he does _not_ want to experience it here.

But the Alteans are relentless. For every fleet Voltron takes out, three more appear. They’re running all but ragged, dealing with the remnants of the Galra Empire on one front and the Alteans on the other. Allura’s needed to create wormholes, since now their enemies have the same ability, so Lance couldn’t take a break even if he wanted to. And he could really use one – Voltron is needed at least every three days.

Lance goes through the motions, training with the team, flying Blue, forming Voltron, but his heart isn’t in it. He never misses a shot, and they don’t have any issues with actually forming Voltron, but he just can’t bring himself to even muster up the same level of excitement he had before. The team thinks something happened while he was with Lotor, he can see it in the pitying looks they give him whenever a Galra ship appears. In a way, they’re right. Something _had_ happened. But it isn’t what they think.

They’ve just defeated a small fleet of Alteans – no easy task – and Lance is sitting alone in the dining room, trying to convince himself to eat something. He pushes his spoon around his bowl, staring at the green goo inside. It’s fine, not the most disgusting thing Lance has ever eaten, but he can barely taste it. Before, he would’ve complained loudly about eating this instead of one of Hunk’s heavenly creations. Now, though, he barely has the strength to lift the spoon from the bowl.

“Lance,” Hunk starts, setting down his own bowl and pulling out a chair across from him. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine.” He drops his spoon, giving up on the food.

Hunk’s not buying it. “You haven’t been yourself ever since we saved you from Lotor.”

“He set me free,” Lance insists. This isn’t the first time they’ve had this argument. The entire team has had this conversation with him at least twice. He knows they’re worried, that their concerns are well meaning, but he’s so damn tired of this. He wants to tell someone – Hunk, preferably – but he can’t. He knows Hunk would just think it’s some messed up Stockholm syndrome crap mixed in with Galra magic. But Lance knows better – he knows it’s _real_.

“Are you sure he didn’t do something to you? Maybe you just don’t remember. I mean the Galra have some pretty intense tech…”

Lance pushes back his chair. “I remember everything.” He remembers every moment he had aboard Lotor’s ship. Every glance, every innocent touch. Their only kiss. “I need to shower,” he says, disappearing out of the room.

He isn’t lying. Lance goes straight to the shower, leaving his food and Hunk behind in the dining room. He turns the water on so hot it turns his skin red, nearly burning him, and stands there, letting it rush over his shoulders.

He’s being ridiculous. This is insane. He was Lotor’s _prisoner_ , nothing more, and yet here he is. Pining in the shower like some shoujo protagonist. Lance reaches up, tugging on his bangs. He needs to get a grip. It’s been months since he’s returned, and he’s still walking around in a daze, feeling like his heart was ripped out, leaving his chest hollow.

Lance shuts off the water and wraps his towel around himself before padding back to his room, leaving wet footprints in his wake. It’s a little too early for bed, but he changes and lies down anyway, staring at the ceiling.

They’re out here to save the universe, he reminds himself. First the Galra, now the Alteans, but in the end it doesn’t matter who their enemy is. What matters is that his family and all the people he knows back on Earth are relying on them, whether they know it or not. And not just Earth, Lance berates himself, but all the planets. Everyone in the universe has families, as Keith pointed out a long time ago.

It’s to that harrowing thought that he drifts off to sleep.

\---

Barely two days later, the alarms blare through the castle, waking them all up. Lance stumbles out of bed on autopilot, pulling his armor on. He grabs his helmet and jogs to the bridge, still the last to arrive, but no longer as late as he had been that first day of training, back when they couldn’t even form Voltron.

“We’ve received a distress signal from planet Alderaan,” Coran announces once Lance is seated at his console. “It’s located in the solar system nearest the most recent rift the Alteans have created.” He pulls up the map, originally used to show which areas were Galra occupied and which had been taken back by rebel fighters. The map now shows three colors: purple for Galra planets, green for the freed planets, and white for the ones taken by the Alteans. The white is slowly creeping through the green systems, even taking over a few formerly purple planets on the outskirts of the Galra Empire.

Coran points to an area that’s currently just a mix of green and purple, no white anywhere nearby. “But that area hasn’t had any Altean attacks yet,” Pidge says, frown clear in her voice.

Coran winces at the reminder that the evil they’re fighting this time isn’t Galra. “No, it hasn’t. This rift opened recently.”

“How recently?” Hunk asks warily.

“I’m not sure,” Coran admits. “We just received the first distress signal.”

Keith curses and even Lance whistles. This is bad – far worse than him _missing Lotor_. “We’ll do what we have to,” Shiro announces. “Team, get to your lions.”

Lance looks over at Allura, the way he always does when it’s time for battle. Some part of him hopes that she’ll insist on taking Blue, tell them that she’s needed out there more than she’s needed in here. But she never says it, and this time is no exception. Instead, she stands on the platform, already forming the wormhole, so Lance heads to his elevator, the last to leave, and takes it down to Blue.

They arrive in the system to pure madness. Around them, remnants of the rebel ships are already floating, destroyed. They don’t bother to fly separately, instead forming Voltron immediately. Shiro has Pidge and Keith form the shield and sword right off the bat, needing them to get through the debris field.

“Where _is_ Alderaan?” Shiro asks, so tense Lance can feel it running down his own spine. No doubt the other paladins can too.

“It should be right in front of you,” Coran replies.

A cold dread fills Lance’s stomach, because in front of them he can see nothing but wreckage and bits of floating rock. But their shield pushes away a piece of debris, and their sword slices through a huge chunk of metal, and they can finally see the planet. It’s not destroyed, but that fear isn’t far off. The bulk of the Altean fleet is surrounding the planet, and though small rebel fighters are charging the ships, their shots look as ineffective as a light show from here.

“Guys?” Keith speaks up. “We have company.”

Off to their right, a whole fleet of Galra ships jump out of hyperspace, joining the fray. “Are we gonna have to fight them too?” Hunk asks, panicked. “Please tell me we don’t have to fight them.”

“Steady,” Shiro tells them.

“Look!” Pidge shouts, but it’s unnecessary.

Galra fighters zoom out of the large ship in a wave, converging on the Altean fleet. “This area is part of their territory too,” Coran says. “You may not have to fight them.”

“But stay on your toes, paladins,” Allura reminds them darkly. “They could turn on us.”

“Roger that,” Lance agrees.

“Lance, Hunk, thrusters. Let’s join this fight!” Shiro commands.

They race towards the fray, shoving aside everything in their way to reach it. The Altean fighters see them first, and soon they’re surrounded by small white ships, shooting them from every angle. “Hunk!” Shiro calls.

“On it!” Hunk replies. The canon forms on their shoulder, and within moments, shots are flying all around, mostly hitting their mark. Lance and Hunk keep pushing their thrusters, forcing Voltron deeper into the battle. They need to get closer to the main ships. There are three of the large ones, each equipped with their signature circular gun in the front. Two of them are focused on the Galra now, while one remains on the castle.

“That’s the one we’re going for!” Shiro shouts, as if reading Lance’s mind. They’re probably all thinking the same thing at this point, anyway. They aim for the Altean ship attacking the planet, leaving the others for the Galra and fly straight for it.

They don’t get very far.

Energy hits Voltron right in the chest, ripping screams from all the paladins. The force of the hit pushes them sideways, and they slam into Alderaan’s moon. Lance’s body ricochets against the back of his chair, making his teeth clatter. They need to move – they need to get off this moon and join the fight.

He feels Hunk engage his own thrusters at the same time as him, but it doesn’t matter. A second wave of energy hits them, and this time Lance can _feel_ the moon crushing beneath their weight. “Pidge, shield!” Shiro demands.

The shield forms in front of them, blocking the third blast from hitting them directly, but Lance and Hunk still can’t push off the moon. Not with the energy shoving against them. Whatever it is, it’s too strong for them to fight against.

Pidge seems to realize the same thing. “We’re too big of a target! We need to split up.”

“I agree,” Shiro grits out. “Team, separate. We’ll take this ship out and re-form.”

They wait for the blast to stop. The shield disappears and immediately, all five of them split up. It works; the next blast hits the moon itself, missing all the lions. As they fly around, Lance finally gets a chance to see what was firing on them. And it’s not one of the large ships like he’d expected. “What the cheese?”

“Holy quiznak,” Pidge agrees.

“What is that?” Keith asks.

The ship firing on them is small, built almost like one of the other Altean fighters. But its shape is completely different, and as it charges up for its next shot, the energy seems to be forming out of thin air around the ship rather than the ship itself. In all honesty, it reminds Lance more of the magic the druids use than any weapon he’s seen.

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro declares. “We need to take it out.”

He barely finishes speaking before the red lion charges in. Typical Keith, always barging in without thinking. “Keith!” Shiro shouts, and then, because Lance is already moving too, “Lance! What are you doing?”

“I think I know how to take out the beam,” Keith says.

Lance immediately calls bullshit. “No you don’t. You’re just trying to attack them before they finish charging.”

“If it stops it, then it does the same thing.”

Truly, it’s amazing Keith’s survived this long without help. Lance sees the beam brighten, a sign that they’re almost out of time, and Keith isn’t slowing down. Lance curses under his breath. “Dammit, Keith.” He urges Blue faster, wishing she moved as swiftly as Red.

She’s fast enough. Blue slams into Red, and both lions go flying out of the trajectory of the energy blast, though Lance feels the thrum of it in his fingers anyway. “Why do you keep launching yourself into death?!” he screeches at Keith.

“I had it under control!” Keith shouts back.

Lance wants to rip out his hair. No, he wants to rip out Keith’s hair. “Just…stay there. I’m gonna freeze it.”

He turns Blue before Keith can argue anymore and rushes back towards the ship, which is already gearing up for another shot. “I’m gonna freeze it!” he yells to the others, even though he knows they all heard him tell Keith.

“It’s worth a try!” Pidge agrees, shouting over the sounds of blasts. The green lion’s already moved on towards the larger ship, Yellow following along. Shiro seems to have flown off towards where the fighters are most numerous, taking out twenty single handedly with each swipe of his jawblade.

“Keith, wait till I freeze it, then jump in and strike,” Lance decides, plan forming in his head as Blue powers up her freeze ray.

Keith doesn’t agree, but he doesn’t argue either, so Lance counts that as a win. He turns Blue, aiming her at the gathering energy, and she opens her mouth, shooting ice at it. To Lance’s surprise, his plan works, and the beam stops before it can start. The beam may seem to be made of magic, but it’s not impervious to ice. “Now, Keith!” he shouts.

A shock of red flies past him – Keith going in for the strike. He takes out the ship almost single handedly, using a combination of Red’s firepower and plasma cannon. Lance opens his mouth, half wanting to tell Keith _told you so_ and half wanting to let out a whoop in triumph. But before he can even decide which, something hits Blue.

Lance can’t register anything beyond pain – both his own and Blue’s. Screams echo all around him as Blue careens through space, colliding hard with the moon before bouncing away again. Lance grasps the controls in an iron grip, just trying to hold on. Blue is completely out of his control, completely outside her own control too.

The world settles around him, and Lance heaves in a breath. He winces when his chest presses against his armor. Somehow he’d slammed back against his chair enough to bruise – or break – a rib. He inhales again anyway, opening his mouth. “Guys –!”

He’s cut off with a shout as a second blast hits him. Blue slams into something big once, twice, more times than Lance can count, and his restraints finally give way. He lets out a shout when he loses his grip and flies up, smacking into the ceiling. In a blink, he catches sight of a strangely familiar ship in front of Blue.

But then he hits the floor, and his world goes black.

\---

Cold. Lance comes to life with soft ice crystals still melting off his lashes and stumbles forward, landing on something soft and solid. He inhales the deep scent of cinnamon and smiles. “Hunk.”

“Don’t you ‘Hunk’ me,” his best friend lectures. “Do you have any idea how bad that scared me?”

“How bad what scared you?”

Hunk inhales sharply. “Do you even remember why you’re in the pod this time?”

“No, but it’s probably Keith’s fault,” Lance mutters, hoping for a laugh. He gets one, even if it’s just a soft chuckle.

“He is blaming himself,” Hunk admits.

“Is it really Keith’s fault?” Lance asks, finally breaking away from the comfort that is a patentable Hunk hug. He continues leaning against him as much as he can, legs still feeling like jelly. “I don’t…really remember yet, sorry. Sometimes they take a while to come back.”

Hunk frowns. “No. It’s not really anyone’s fault. We were in the middle of battle, and Blue got hit with this weird energy thing. We’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Altean or Galran?”

“Altean,” Hunk says, face hard.

Lance hums. “I don’t even remember leaving for a battle. Last thing I remember was going to bed.”

Hunk whistles. “Dang, this one really messed your brain up. I guess I’m not really surprised though.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“After all,” Hunk plows on, “when I saw you in the med pod, you still looked really banged up. We think you might’ve been tossed around Blue, but we’re not really sure.”

Lance’s chest clenches. “How is Blue?”

Hunk pats his back, comfortingly. “She’s not in good shape, but she’ll be alright. She was completely dark when we got her back in the castle; we had to tow her in because you weren’t there, but Coran said she’ll be able to recover.”

“How did you get me back to the castle then?” Lance asks, surprised when Hunk shifts his weight, eyes darting to the side. The clear signs that Hunk doesn’t know what to say without lying. “Hunk,” Lance demands, “tell me what happened.”

“I’m not supposed to,” Hunk admits.

“Why.”

“Um…because…you’re hurt! Right! It’s totally because you’re injured.”

“Hunk.”

His best friend swallows. “I’m really bad at this, okay? I don’t want to be the one to tell you.”

“Fine,” Lance agrees. Hunk’s shoulders slump in relief. “Then just tell me how I can find out.”

“What? I thought you were letting me off the hook.”

“If you’re hiding something from me, I need to know. You can either tell me, or I can wander around the castle by myself with sleep chamber knees and try to figure it out. All. By. My. Self.”

Hunk rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet a few times before he sighs, finally giving in. “I’ll take you the long way back to your room. And if you don’t figure it out, then you can bother Allura or Shiro with it. Or Keith. But I _really_ don’t want to get in trouble with Allura.” He leans in and whispers, “She’s kinda scary.”

Lance snickers. “She can be, yeah. Alright,” he holds out his hand. “You have a deal.” Hunk’s his best friend, and if he’s uncomfortable telling Lance…whatever this big secret is, then Lance isn’t going to force it.

They make their way out of the infirmary slowly, and Hunk turns them in the exact opposite direction than they would ordinarily go to get to their rooms. “The bridge?” he asks, keeping his voice a whisper. He’s still semi-leaning on Hunk, but as they walk his legs start to regain their strength.

“I think so,” Hunk agrees. “That’s where they were when I left.”

“Who? Allura and Shiro?”

“Um…sure.”

What the hell? What is Hunk keeping from him? Lance wracks his brain, trying to figure out what could’ve happened that would make him feel weird. The closest conclusion he gets is that he was attacked – or rescued – by an alternate universe version of himself. Maybe with a gross mullet like Sven. Hey, if Star Trek can have a goatee universe, then they can have a mullet universe. A mulletverse.

Lance chuckles to himself, covering his mouth with his hand when Hunk shushes him. The door into the bridge is open, and there are five figures standing in the doorway. Hunk grabs Lance and pulls him back into the nearest small hallway so they don’t get caught. Lance holds his breath, straining to hear, and finally catches the sound of two voices, arguing.

“Get out of my ship,” Allura snaps, “ _before_ he wakes up.”

“Now, is that any way to treat your savior?” Lance sucks in a breath, pushing away from Hunk so he can peer around the wall. The lighting isn’t bright enough to see details. But it is enough for Lance to make out long, flowing white hair. He really doesn’t need the visual to recognize him, though. Because he could never forget that voice. He hears it in his dreams; he thinks about it when he’s awake.

“I would hardly call you our savior, Lotor,” Allura spits back, voice pure poison.

Lance had watched Lotor stand toe to toe with Galra generals, had seen the way he handled himself on missions when his devious side came out, so he can picture the way his lips curl up at Allura’s words. “Really? Because without my help, I think you would’ve found yourselves short a paladin.”

“Don’t pretend to care about him,” Keith snarls, and the shortest of the figures – the one who must be Keith – steps forward. He’s stopped by the one who must be Shiro.

Lotor ignores him, still seemingly focused on Allura. “You promised he would be safe. _That_ was our agreement.”

“This is a war, and he is a paladin. I cannot make such promises, but I _can_ promise that we will keep him safe from _you_.” And with those final words, Allura waves her hand. “You know the way out. I suggest you use it.”

Hunk tugs Lance back by his collar before anyone can see them hiding here, but even though Hunk continues tugging at him, he refuses to move. Instead, he stands there listening to the sound of footsteps approaching.

Acxa appears first, ever the dutiful guard for Lotor. She’s the only one with him, at least that he can see, but he doesn’t think Ezor is there with them – he bets Pidge and Allura have gone to some extreme to prevent her from walking around invisible. Acxa doesn’t look his way, keeping her gaze focused forward, expression as serious as it always is.

But he ignores her when Lotor appears. The prince looks exactly the way Lance remembers, his hair hanging loose past his set shoulders. His eyes are trained forward like Acxa’s, but Lance plans to change that. “Lo-“ before Lance can get his full name out, Hunk’s hand covers his mouth.

It doesn’t matter.

Lotor’s head flicks to the side, his eyes widening as they meet Lance’s. Time stretches out, nearly freezing as they stare at each other. Lance wants to say something, but with Hunk covering his mouth, he can’t. He hopes his eyes can transfer the same message. Lotor’s lips fall open slightly, as if he plans to say something, but Hunk clears his throat, and the prince tears his gaze away. Lotor continues walking, and Lance watches his back until he disappears. Only then does he finally break away from Hunk’s hold.

“Why did you stop me?”

“Why did you try to talk to him?”

Lance opens and closes his mouth, a bit like a fish out of water. “Do you trust me?” he asks finally.

“More than anything,” Hunk promises. “You’re my best friend.”

“Then please…I need to talk to him,” Lance begs. Hunk’s teeth worry at his lower lip, his eyes darting around the hall. “Please,” he repeats.

“Fine. He’s going to the shuttle bay.” Lance pushes away, but Hunk grabs onto him. “It’s faster to go through the bridge.” Hunk hesitates. “I’ll distract them.”

Hunk leaves the hallway first, and Lance pokes his head out watching him. Allura, Shiro, and Keith are still gathered in front of the bridge doors, Pidge and Coran are nowhere to be seen – Lance will have to risk it. Hunk says something Lance doesn’t catch, urging the three of them away, and Lance takes his chance.

His legs are almost back to normal, but his knees are still a little weak from the pod. He pushes through regardless, racing into the bridge before he can get caught. He jumps into the red elevator, the one closest to him, and takes it down, grabbing onto the zip line. It feels too slow this time, as if everything in the castle is trying to prevent him from getting to Lotor, but eventually he reaches the pod. He takes it to the bay, manually stopping it before it can raise him into the red lion.

Lance jumps out, unable to see the two Galra. He runs regardless, panicking that he missed his chance. He turns the corner, not ready to give up and spots them right as they climb the ramp to their shuttle. “Lotor!” he shouts. “Wait!”

To his relief, they hear him, and both Galra stop and turn towards him. Lance runs the rest of the way regardless, racing up the ramp. His legs are still shaky enough that he stumbles when he stops, and the only thing that keeps him from falling is Lotor’s grip around his waist.

“Lance?” Lotor breathes. Lance presses his hands against the prince’s chest, heart hammering in his throat.

“Sir, we need to leave.”

“A moment, Acxa. Get the shuttle ready,” Lotor instructs, not looking away from Lance. Her footsteps disappear up the ramp and into the shuttle, leaving the two of them alone. Lotor’s hand rubs up and down Lance’s back, making him painfully aware that he’s still clothed only in the white med pod suit, not even wearing shoes. “You should be resting,” the prince murmurs.

“What are you doing here?” Lance asks, breathless.

Lotor ignores the question, instead asking his own. “Are you hurt?”

“Shouldn’t be. This isn’t my first time in one of those healing pods.” Lotor’s grip tightens around Lance at the admission. “But you haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

The prince sighs, bringing a hand up to stroke Lance’s cheek. He leans into it, closing his eyes. It’s been months since he’s felt Lotor’s touch, but that hasn’t stopped him from thinking about it every single day. “I brought you back.”

Lance’s breath hitches. “You took me out of Blue?”

“Your lion wasn’t responding, and they seemed focused on you. I had to get you out of there,” Lotor tells him, voice hard.

Lance struggles to remember, but just like before, everything comes out as blank nothingness. All he knows is that the battle was with Alteans and somehow he’d gotten hurt. “I thought you were our enemy.”

Lotor tilts his head. “The princess hasn’t told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Lance.” He looks over at his name and sees Hunk standing at the base of the ramp, looking winded and irritated. “Allura and Keith are on their way. We need to go.”

“Give me a second,” Lance insists. He turns back to Lotor. “Take me with you.”

“The agreement with your team is tenuous at best,” Lotor says, shaking his head. His fingers brush across Lance’s cheek, almost an apology. “Taking you away again would destroy it.”

Lance threads his fingers through the prince’s hair, memorizing the soft texture. “Then stay.”

“I have other matters to attend to.”

“So you’re leaving me again?”

In less than the time it takes to blink, Lotor pulls Lance into him, pressing his face into the crook of Lance’s neck. “I will come back for you,” he assures. “I promise.”

“You said that last time,” Lance chokes out, willing himself not to cry.

Lotor breaks the embrace, separating himself. He presses something into Lance’s chest, and Lance grabs it before it can fall. “It’s a direct line to me,” he explains in a whisper. “Use it.”

Lotor’s thumb brushes the skin just under Lance’s ear as the prince leans in, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He's just as gentle as Lance remembers, lips just as soft. He wants to pull Lotor down for a real kiss, continue where they’d left off all those months ago, but all too soon Lotor’s backing away, out of Lance’s reach. The prince’s eyes dart to where Hunk’s standing behind Lance before settling on Lance once more. “I must go,” he declares, almost an apology, before turning on his heel and disappearing into the shuttle.

Lance stands there, frozen until Hunk grabs his arm, pulling him back so the shuttle can take off. “We need to go,” Hunk insists. “Allura and Keith are on their way.”

“Yeah,” Lance agrees, turning and following Hunk. He doesn’t want to watch Lotor disappear. Not again.

He grips the communicator close to his chest as Hunk leads him away, ignoring the curses his best friend spews as they’re forced to hide when Keith and Allura appear. His mind whirs with the new information. Lotor had saved him. Lotor had _come back for him_. Lotor hadn’t forgotten about him. Lance closes his eyes, focusing on the ghost of lips pressed to his forehead. He’s going to do whatever it takes to see Lotor again, Allura’s wishes be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and 10 points to whoever gets the Star Wars reference


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Hunk have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I could get you a chapter before the New Year, but here we are! Unbetaed so all mistakes are my own. (I did edit though.) Please forgive them!
> 
> Enjoy!

“You’re worse than Keith,” Hunk tuts once they’re both in Lance’s room. He hands Lance his pajamas to change into and takes a seat on his bed while Lance disappears into the bathroom to change. Lance can still hear him, though. “Between your stunts and his stunts and Pidge staying up all night, I’ll have hair like Shiro’s in no time.”

Lance snorts, pulling on his pajamas. “I think it’d take a lot more than that.” For a moment he considers forgoing his skin routine, but since he has enough energy to think about it, he has enough energy to do it.

“You don’t know that. I’m under a lot of stress here, man.”

Lance washes his face and pours moisturizer on his hands, rubbing it on his face as he walks out to see Hunk, sitting with his shoulders slumped on Lance’s bed. “I know. And I’m sorry about that.”

Hunk’s head jerks up, and he levels Lance with The Look. The one that means Lance is going to have to explain himself. And sure enough: “You gonna tell me what happened?”

“What do you mean?” Lance asks, keeping his voice light.

“Don’t play innocent with me, Lance,” Hunk warns.

“We’re friends,” Lance tries.

“I saw you two standing there. You looked a lot more intimate than friends.”

He sighs, sinking onto the bed next to his friend. “It’s complicated.”

“Try me.”

Lance closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. “I like him.”

Hunk’s hand falls heavily onto his shoulder. “Lance, he kidnapped you. Whatever he did to you…it’s over now.”

“He didn’t do anything to me.”

“He’s Zarkon’s son,” Hunk counters, clearly not believing him.

“And he asked permission before even touching me,” Lance argues. “He’s not a monster.”

Clearly, it’s the wrong thing to say. Hunk stares at him, horrified. “He _touched_ you?” he asks in a whisper.

“Not like that,” Lance corrects and then backtracks. “Well, a little like that.”

“A little like that?!” Hunk squeaks, clearly terrified. “Oh my _god_. What if he has space STDs? Can the healing pods even check for that?”

Lance turns, putting both hands on Hunk’s shoulders, trying to calm him down from the panic attack he’s swiftly approaching. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, buddy. We didn’t have sex.”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

“Oh,” Hunk says, voice soft. “Good.”

Lance winces. “Not really.”

“Explain.”

“We…uh…kissed.”

“ _What_?!” Hunk squeaks. “He forced himself on you?!”

Lance covers Hunk’s mouth with his hand. “ _No_. No, he didn’t. You need to be quiet or one of the others will here. Can you promise that?” Hunk frowns, thinking but eventually nods. “Good.” Lance removes his hand.

“So he didn’t force himself on you,” Hunk whispers slowly.

“No, he didn’t,” Lance confirms. “I wanted it.”

Hunk’s eyes narrow. “He _told_ you that you wanted it?”

“God, no. No it’s not…” Lance sighs. “I told him I wanted it, so he kissed me. And then I kissed him back.” _Harder and deeper_ , he doesn’t add.

“You –“

Hunk’s next question is mercifully cut off by the sound of a knock on the door. He shoots Lance a look that says clearly _we are not done talking about this_ before standing up and getting it. “Hey, can I see him?” Keith’s voice asks.

“Um…” Hunk turns to look at him, and Lance shrugs. “Sure?”

“Thanks.” Keith walks in, letting the door close behind him. He evaluates Lance from the other side of the room, giving him a once over. “You don’t look injured anymore.”

Lance snorts. “No shit, Mullet. I was in the healing pods.”

Keith visibly bristles, but something holds him back from retorting. Hunk was right: Keith does look like he’s blaming himself. “I know that.” He shifts his weight, fingers picking at his gloves. His fidgeting is mirrored in Hunk’s anxious weight shifts, and Lance is going to scream if he has to deal with both of them being like this.

“Well? Don’t just stand there,” he tells them both a little impatiently, tapping the bed next to himself.

Keith hesitates, looking back to Hunk, but eventually both of them make their way over. Hunk sits down immediately on Lance’s right. Keith seems content to stand there awkwardly until Lance glares and pats the bed to his left and Keith finally sits down.

“I was worried about you,” Keith whispers once he’s seated.

Lance wants to tease him; he has the words on the tip of his tongue and even gets as far as turning towards Keith, but the joke dies before it leaves his lips. Keith is honestly, truly upset. “Hey, man,” Lance starts, “it’s okay. Really. I’m okay.”

“If I hadn’t been so stupid and reckless –“

“Stop. It’s fine, Keith. Really.” Lance still doesn’t have his memories from the battle back, but even if he did that wouldn’t change this. He and Keith are teammates. More than that; they’re _friends_. Whether Lance got himself hurt jumping in front of Keith or Keith pulled a stupid stunt that got Lance hurt…it doesn’t matter.

Hunk, an actual real life angel, speaks up, reassuring, “It’s not your fault, you know. None of us could’ve prevented them from targeting Lance.”

_Your lion wasn’t responding, and they seemed focused on you. I had to get you out of there._

“I shouldn’t have attacked that weird ship in the first place,” Keith argues.

Lance shakes his head to clear it of Lotor’s voice for now. “Wait…what weird ship?”

The look Keith gives him is nothing short of alarmed. “What do you mean what weird ship? Do you not…?” He trails off, looking over Lance’s body at Hunk.

“Lance doesn’t remember,” Hunk tells Keith with a shrug.

“I am _right here_ you know.”

“So you don’t remember, but you’re still going to claim it’s not my fault?” Keith accuses, glaring at him.

Lance groans. “Oh my god, Keith, the universe doesn’t revolve around you.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Guys?” Hunk tries to intervene, voice small.

Both of them ignore him. “It means that no matter what you did or what I did to get hurt, it wasn’t ‘your’ fault.” Lance emphasizes his point with finger quotes.

“Oh yeah? What if I was the one who shot you?” Keith challenges.

“Really?” Hunk asks. “That’s the argument you want to go with?”

They continue to ignore him. “Depends. Was it intentional or not?” Lance snarks.

“Not the point,” Keith grouses.

Lance blinks. “Wait. You actually –“

“No!” Keith shouts. “I didn’t shoot you.”

“Well then. It’s not your fault,” Lance concludes.

“You are so annoying.”

“I thought you _cared_ , Mullet. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Of course I care, Lance,” Keith snaps.

“Good. Because I care too,” Lance snaps back.

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Great,” Hunk interjects. “We’ve established that you both care about each other. Now, uh, can we stop fighting?”

“I’m not fighting with him,” Lance argues, ignoring the snort from his left.

Hunk, for his part, looks incredibly confused. “Right…cool. So no one’s fighting with anyone else. That’s…totally the mood I’m feeling in the room right now.”

“Why did you even come here?” Lance asks Keith, somewhat accusingly.

Keith huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Because you think it’s your fault.”

“Because I care about you, dumbass. You’re my family now, okay?” Keith isn’t looking at Lance as he makes the confession, red painting his cheeks, but that doesn’t stop the goofy grin from spreading across Lance’s face.

“Oh my god, you love us,” he declares.

Keith turns further away from him. “Shut up.”

“You _do_ , oh my god. You just called me your _family_. You actually, truly do love me.” Lance pokes Keith’s cheek when Keith continues to ignore him. “Say it, Keith. Say you love me.”

Keith smacks his hand away, standing up. His face is fully in flames now, and he refuses to meet either Lance’s or Hunk’s gazes. “Okay, okay, geez. Calm down.”

“Say it, Keith.”

Keith grumbles something unintelligible, so Lance kicks his shin. “Ow, shit, Lance calm down.”

“Say. It.”

“I love you, alright?”

Hunk lets out a squeal next to him. “What about me?”

“Yes,” Keith grumbles, face still redder than a lobster. “I love you too.”

“And Pidge?” Lance presses.

“Will you calm down?” Keith gripes.

Lance turns to Hunk. “I’m gonna tell Pidge Keith doesn’t love her.”

“Oh yeah, dude,” Hunk agrees with an equally shit-eating grin on his face. “She’s gonna be really bummed about it.”

“Definitely,” Lance agrees.

Keith growls. “I love Pidge too, just…shut up.”

Lance turns his grin to Keith. “You know, I used to think you didn’t have emotions.”

“Fuck off.”

“But now,” he continues, ignoring the other paladin, “I can see that you’re actually a huge sap –“

“I’m leaving,” Keith turns and walks to the door.

“Love you too buddy!” Lance shouts after him.

Keith flips him off before he leaves.

Lance is still chuckling when his doors slide shut. “Oh man,” he giggles to Hunk. “Can you believe Mr. Emo Mullet Knife confessed his love not once but three times?” Hunk, however, isn’t laughing. Lance nudges him. “Come on, it was kinda cute.”

“You didn’t see him when you were gone. He was really messed up about it, you know,” Hunk says seriously.

Lance huffs. “That’s not the point.”

“He really does think of you as a brother,” Hunk continues. “He was against the whole Lotor thing to begin with.”

Lance takes that as his opportunity to jump on the topic. “About the whole Lotor thing…are any of you planning to tell me what that’s about? Was anyone planning to tell me at all?”

Hunk shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t think so.”

“Really.” _That_ pisses Lance off.

“Look, I don’t want to get involved in this, alright? I love you too, man. But things were…things were not good while you were gone.”

Lance sighs. He doesn’t blame Hunk for being cautious about this; were their roles reversed he’d be the same. “I know. And I’m sorry you had to go through that, but…I like him. I really do.”

Hunk opens his mouth, closes it, then looks Lance up and down once. “I won’t push it,” he decides. “If you think you really like him, then I support you. But if he does anything fishy, I swear I will be the first in line to murder him.”

Lance smiles. “Thanks, bud.”

Hunk stands up with a nod. “Get some rest, alright? No sneaking out to…flirt with a gladiator or anything.”

Lance chuckles. “Yeah, I promise.”

Hunk walks to the door, pausing just as he reaches it. “Oh, and Lance?”

“Hmm?”

“That line. It’s a long one.”

Lance frowns before figuring out what Hunk means. “Thanks,” he says weakly.

With one last smile, Hunk disappears.

Lance gets up and pads softly to the door, resting his ear to the metal. He can’t hear much through it, but he can just barely make out the soft pit pats of Hunk’s feet walking away. He stands there until the steps fully disappear before walking back to his bed and crawling under the sheets. He reaches his hand under the pillow, grabbing the comm Lotor had given him which he had slipped under there earlier.

Lance stares at it for a moment before grabbing his headphones and plugging them in. Whatever adaptor Pidge had hooked up for him to listen to Altean devices works for the Galran ones too. Small miracles.

He brings the comm to his lips and clicks the button with a soft whisper. “Lotor?”

Lance releases the button and closes his eyes, listening hard to the soft background noise of the device. He doesn’t expect Lotor to respond. He’s got plenty of other things to deal with; Lance is surprised Lotor even gave him a means to contact him.

“Lance.”

The velvet voice wraps around him after Lance has already given up on hearing it. The way Lotor says his name brings heat to his cheeks. No one else says his name like that; like they’re uttering a secret prayer.

“I didn’t think you’d answer,” Lance whispers, praying Keith’s Galra ears can’t hear him through the walls.

“I didn’t think you would call,” Lotor replies, voice soft.

“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I was under the impression you did not want to see me again.”

Lance sits upright, even though Lotor can’t see him. “Who said that?”

“The princess.”

Lance clenches his fist. Apparently he and Allura need to have _words_ about what it means to be part of a team. “She did, did she?”

“Yes. I believe that was part of the reason she was so hesitant in making an alliance at all.”

Lance swallows. “What alliance?”

He catches the soft huff of Lotor’s breath through the comm when he responds, the uptick of his words as he asks himself the rhetorical question. “So you didn’t know after all.”

“No,” Lance confirms, even though he doesn’t need to.

“The Alteans from the other reality are causing…problems,” Lotor starts.

Lance snorts. “That’s an understatement.”

“Yes,” Lotor replies. Lance knows he’s wearing his small, wry smirk. He wishes he could chase it with his finger, or better yet, his lips. “They don’t seem to differentiate between the Voltron Coalition and the Galra. For some time, we were fighting them separately, but their weapons are…formidable.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“You’ve seen as well, I trust,” Lotor says firmly. “The blue lion _has_ been spotted regularly –“

“I’ve been fighting them,” Lance assures him. “They didn’t keep me that far out of the loop.”

“Maybe they should have,” Lotor remarks coldly.

_You promised he would be safe._ That _was our agreement._ Lotor’s voice echoes in Lance’s mind.

“What was the agreement?” Lance asks. Maybe Lotor will be honest with him where his own team isn’t.

Lotor doesn’t skirt the issue like Hunk, doesn’t lie to him the way the rest of the castle has been. Lotor just tells him, as if he has the right to know. Which he _does_. “The Galra under my control do not attack Voltron or the agreed upon planets already in the Coalition. In exchange, Voltron does not free any new planets still within the Galra Empire. When the Alteans attack, we both fight them and do not interfere with each other.” Lotor pauses before adding, “And you are not to be harmed.”

“Me?” Lance asks, heart fluttering. “Why me specifically?”

Lotor’s voice drops to a soft murmur, to a tone lovers would share between the sheets. “Why do you think?”

“You should’ve taken me back with you,” Lance declares.

Lotor lets out a soft chuckle. “I wish I could, but that would violate the other term of the agreement.”

“Which is?”

“I cannot see you,” Lotor says simply.

Lance frowns. He should’ve figured they would’ve done this. That Allura and Keith would join forces to keep Lance ‘safe’ from someone who was never a threat to him. “That’s a stupid agreement.”

“A necessary sacrifice,” Lotor states.

“Is that why you haven’t reached out to me?”

“Yes.”

Lance’s eyes widen as another implication hits him full force. “Is that why you let me go?”

“Yes.”

All the breath leaves Lance in a whoosh. He’d thought, for _months_ now, that he’d pushed it too far. That his kissing Lotor back hadn’t been wanted, that he’d gone too far. _Do not tempt me, Lance_. He’d thought it was a compliment at the time. That Lotor had _wanted_ it as much as Lance himself had. But then he’d been left on that ice planet, and Lance wasn’t so sure.

“Do you miss me?” Lance asks before he can stop himself.

“Of course,” Lotor breathes. “But it isn’t so easy as simply wanting to see you.”

“I know,” Lance interrupts, impatiently. He’s not stupid. He knows that they’re in a Romeo and Juliet situation here – hopefully with more romance and less death – and that things aren’t as easy as they would be if he’d fallen for someone on the ship instead. “I miss you too,” he says instead.

“Lance,” Lotor says again. The way he says Lance’s name makes his knees go weak even though he’s lying down. “Please believe me. I wanted to see you.”

“I know,” Lance repeats, though his tone is less irritated this time. Hearing Lotor like this, now, he can believe that the prince wanted to see him. Still wants to see him. And he wants the same. “Lotor, if I can talk to Allura, convince her…”

“You do not need to go so far.”

Lance shakes his head, even though Lotor can’t see him. “It’s not about that,” he insists. “They did this without asking me. Lied to you and claimed I didn’t want to see you. I…” He struggles for a moment, not knowing how to put his internal stew of emotions into words. “I deserve to have a say,” he says finally. “In all things Voltron does.” The last part he adds for himself, a reminder that he’s on the team too. He’s been distant from them lately, but that doesn’t forgive them from acting without his knowledge.

Lotor’s quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Very well.”

“Thank you,” Lance breathes.

“If you were a general of mine, I would never leave you out of a decision,” Lotor murmurs softly.

Lance flushes even though the prince can’t see him. He opens his mouth to respond, but noise erupts in the background of Lotor’s comm. “Lotor?” he asks when the prince doesn’t say anything.

“I apologize,” Lotor says, sounding strained. “Call me again when you can. I must go.” There’s a click, and the call ends.

Lance stares at the comm for a second before unplugging it from his headphones and sliding it under his pillow. He trusts Lotor will be able to handle anything on his end, so Lance needs to handle things over here. In the morning, he’ll have a _talk_ with Allura about leaving him out of team decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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